Conman jailed following £100,000 fake holidays and investments scam

A man who conned at least ten people out of more than £100,000 by pretending to be operating as a travel or investment company has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Keith Atkin, of Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, conned people out of money and sold fake holidays to fund a lavish lifestyle.

He appeared at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday (Thursday) following a 12-day trial.

Atkin was arrested in September 2016 and an investigation uncovered that he had been committing fraud since around February 2014.

He had done this by getting people to part with money but the goods would never materialise.

One victim paid £74,550 to Atkin as part of an investment scheme.

The rest of the money he gained by selling fake holidays to Lanzarote, Dubai, the Maldives and Monaco.

The 53-year-old used one victim’s account to try and get finance for a new Mercedes and stole £1,855 from another victim’s bank account.

He pleaded not guilty to nine counts fraud by false representation but was convicted by the jury.

He also pleaded guilty to being undischarged bankrupt at the start of the trial for which he was disqualified from being a director for ten years.

DC Chris Underwood, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Atkin embarked on an elaborate set of lies in an attempt to avoid the fact that he tricked an elderly gentleman out of his pension, ruined the honeymoon of a newlywed couple, a surprise birthday holiday of a life time and numerous other people’s holidays.

“It’s had a huge impact on his victims; one man who thought he was booking a special birthday holiday for his wife, lost his job, pension and benefits.

“Atkin’s acts of dishonesty have changed his life forever. He only committed these crimes out of greed to fund his lavish life style of fast cars and luxury items.

“We hope the victim’s feel reassured that despite denying the offences, he has now been held to account by the courts and will be forced to think about his actions from behind bars.”

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